Proposed I-5 express lanes would help Southern California’s drivers and economy

Southern California continues to have some of the worst traffic congestion in the country. Drivers experience traffic delays at almost any hour and day of the week on the region’s major highways.

This gridlock is more than just a pain for drivers. It harms the state’s economy. Inrix finds traffic congestion costs the average Los Angeles driver 89 hours a year and drains $8 billion annually from the economy. The traffic also limits the number of jobs accessible to individuals. For instance, without traffic delays, workers could reach four times as many jobs as they can today.

Over the past decade, residents have been leaving California for various reasons. A 2024 poll by the University of California-Irvine found that 50% of the state’s residents are considering leaving. While traffic congestion isn’t the primary reason for fleeing, it is a contributing factor as people consider high housing prices, the employment opportunities they’ll have in their area, their commute times from places they can afford to live, and the quality of life they’ll have with those commutes.

Decades ago, California’s solution to reduce congestion was building high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, or carpool lanes. Initiated in the 1970s, the state added carpool lanes to hundreds of miles of highways, including I-5, I-405, SR 22, and SR 55.

Unfortunately, California has learned that HOV lanes suffer from the so-called Goldilocks phenomenon. They’re never quite right. Carpool lanes tend to experience too much traffic (they are too hot) at rush hour and too little traffic (they are too cold) during off-peak hours. If speeds in HOV lanes are the same as those in the congested general lanes, drivers have little incentive to carpool. When the lanes are underused, drivers stuck in traffic in the general lanes rightly view the HOV lanes as a poor use of valuable roadway space.

In recent years, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has taken a smart approach to reducing congestion by converting HOV lanes to high-occupancy toll lanes. It is also constructing new toll lanes in some of the region’s busiest highway corridors. The high-occupancy toll lanes still allow carpools, vanpools, and buses to travel in them for free, while also allowing single-occupant vehicles to use them for a toll.

One of these initiatives is the proposed I-5 Managed Lanes Project, a 15.5-mile corridor between Red Hill Avenue and the Orange-Los Angeles County line. One key to the project’s likely success is a variably priced toll, which would rise and fall based on traffic congestion and ensure the volume of cars in the lanes is always just right.

Overall, the proposed express lanes would reduce congestion along the I-5 corridor. Less stop-and-go traffic also means the project would reduce emissions. The revenue generated by solo drivers using the toll lanes would be used to maintain the lanes and fund improvements in that corridor that the state doesn’t have money for otherwise.

Transportation planners have wanted to implement pricing since the 1970s. It is the best way to fund highways sustainably and address traffic congestion. With today’s all-electronic tolling technology, collection costs are low. As Orange County express lane drivers already know, motorists can establish an account, place a small transponder on their vehicles, and the tolls are automatically deducted as they pass under a gantry (sticker reading devices).

The SR 91 express lanes pioneered these lanes and have been highly successful. Ideally, Southern California would have a network of connected express lanes that drivers and businesses could use anytime they need to guarantee themselves a congestion-free trip. The proposed I-5 lanes would help reduce the travel time of emergency vehicles, allow us to get to a child’s soccer game or pick them up at daycare, and ensure we can deliver an urgent package or get to an important appointment on time.

Southern Californians need reliable, free-flowing trips that make it easier to access jobs and services and improve quality of life. Adding more express lanes can help.

A version of this column appeared in the Orange County Register.

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